“Angela Merkel Is A Heroine”

at

sutherland

Peter Sutherland on RTÉ’s Six One yesterday evening

Last night.

On RTÉ’s Six One, presenter Bryan Dobson spoke to Peter Sutherland.

Mr Sutherland is a lizard former EU Commissioner for Competition Policy (1985- 1989), former Attorney General (1981-1984), former chairman of Goldman Sachs (1995-2015) , and currently  the United Nations Special Representative for International Migration (since 2006).

They started off speaking about the makeshift refugee camp in Calais, following a news item about a protest having taken place there yesterday – with some locals and truck drivers calling for it to be closed down.

Mr Sutherland talked about how he had been there, how it is appalling and how 70 additional people arrive in Calais every day.

He then talked about the EU response, as a whole, to those seeking refuge in Europe and highlighted the problems a fragmented approach with different countries doing different things.

He called on EU countries to act with more solidarity in mind.

Then, Mr Dobson asked Mr Sutherland about the EU Apple tax ruling.

Grab a tay

Peter Sutherland: “Basically, the British are saying ‘yes, all of those who are in Calais want to get into the United Kingdom but they’re the responsibility of the French because they’re in France and we won’t allow them into Britain, so the French are going to have to deal with this. This creates obviously some tension but it also creates an enormous problem in Calais where people are constantly trying to get on lorries or on trains and it’s very dangerous and many of them are children.”

Bryan Dobson: “Does that, in a sense if you like, encapsulate the way this has been responded to by Europe, that individual states have been passing the buck?”

Sutherland: “Absolutely, and the greatest evidence of that is in the Mediterranean frontline states – Greece and Italy are taking all of the refugees. Everybody leaving Libya, virtually, is delivered, including by our Navy and the British Navy and the Germans to Italy and they are left with this huge number, growing number of refugees and I think this is grossly unfair. The same can be said for Greece.”

Dobson: “But, of course, what happened, the German chancellor Angela Merkel opened up the border, the German borders to invite people in, in this extraordinary gesture last year is that, politically, she’s facing a backlash now, isn’t she? And her political future is in question because the hostility of very many German people just to that policy.”

Sutherland: “It is, absolutely, but in my view she’s a heroine. She’s done something that others have not been prepared to do and virtually all the central and European countries are saying ‘absolutely no’ to refugees. Surely, if we are a community, a European Union, based with a concept of solidarity, we should share and we should share on a logical basis all the refugees.”

Mr Sutherland then went on to say Ireland should ‘do more’ and invite ‘thousands’ to Ireland.

And was asked about the Apple tax ruling.

Dobson: “The Government, you believe, have made the right decision when it decided to appeal?”

Sutherland: “Unquestionably, there was no decision that could be taken, other than to appeal. Otherwise it would be accepting an adjudication which, as I understand it, the Government absolutely contests. I mean the Government’s case appears to be that the Revenue Commissioners, not the Government made the decision on the application of the law in regard to taxation which would be applicable to everybody. It wasn’t a special deal. Now, if that is correct, it seems to me that that is not a state aid.”

Later

Dobson: “Do you think Apple have paid their fair share of tax to whomever it’s due – Ireland, United States, other European countries?”

Sutherland: “I can’t comment on that, I mean what is a fair amount of tax? It seems a ridiculously large sum to have avoided, I don’t know. I’ve no idea, I’ve seen no papers.”

Watch back in full here

Previously: Peter’s Friends

 

Sponsored Link

Related posts:

Peter’s Friends Sudds’ Law Pawns In The Game Found In A Truck

135 thoughts on ““Angela Merkel Is A Heroine””

  1. fluffybiscuits

    Speaking specifically of Ireland we should take in more refugees. Tear the direct provision system apart. Take in 100,000 immigrants and equip them with skills they may not have and offer them citizenship straight off. Nationalise NAMA to sort the housing crisis for everyone. Create a manufacturing industry.

    Might sound utopian but its something that would work.We build on the scientific devices and move into manufacturing phones, computers, cars etc. (http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/exports-the-primary-driver-of-economic-turnaround-1.2221285)

    Germany took a lot of people in as they know they are sitting on a pension time bomb and need a bigger workforce…

    1. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

      But fluffy, won’t you think of us poor defenceless women being acted by the hoardes? Who will safe us if not burly strong white men?!

        4. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

          Ok. See you in the next thread where you try to insult me. Have a nice day!

          3. manonfire

            Keith Vaz labelled Janner “brave”,
            i can see why now,
            maybe hell have to “die” too..
            Barbara id love to know what janner said to you when he learnt that you and Matthew failed

        2. yoursetc

          I think she makes some very interesting points that deserve consideration. Seems unhelpful to me that she was pounced on for raising challenging ideas about our culture’s current and historical perceptions of paedophilia and sex crime and the intersection of those perceptions with the criminal justice system – constructed to protect people from attacks by others and by the state.

    3. Anomanomanom

      Im assuming you’ve had a bump to the head. Things are not that simple. So take about 100,000 in and train them to a skill level to improve jobs, society,so on so on. In theory thats great, but we don’t have funding to train our own young people, and jobless(that actually want good training) but you think we should spend it on refugees.

      1. Rob_G

        Of course – we just need to start paying workers Chinese salaries.

        All part of ‘Fluffy’s Great Leap Backwards’

        1. fluffybiscuits

          I believe we can use our expertise to export goods to China

          Soyabeans, Zinc, aircraft machinery, plastics etc.

          Chinese imports of pharmaceuticals from the US is 3.3 bn alone..

          5. Rob_G

            No, I must confess I have not. Perhaps you would be so good as to enlighten me?

            I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with the idea of growing soyabeans per se, but the notion that we can take in several hundred thousand unskilled migrants and suddenly start competing with China in manufacturing seems fundamentally flawed.

            “Chinese imports of pharmaceuticals from the US is 3.3 bn alone..”

            – this has more merit; we currently manufacture a lot of pharmaceuticals. But with the amount of automation that modern manufacturing entails, I think that these factories require a small number of highly-skilled technicians, rather than a large amount of unskilled labour.

  3. Zuppy International

    The Devils is in the detail:

    “Greece and Italy are taking all of the refugees. Everybody leaving Libya […] is delivered, including by our Navy and the British Navy and the Germans to Italy and they are left with this huge number, growing number of refugees.”

    There you are, as if the words were from Satan himself: the European Navies are delivering refugees into Europe.

      1. Zuppy International

        That European Navies are delivering refugees into Europe.

        It’s a plan. The Sutherland and Soros plan.

        1. Nigel

          Must be a fun choice. Let ’em drown or take ’em back to a war-torn hell-hole, instead, weeping, they follow the giant laughing floating head of Soros as it guides them to Europe.

          2. Nigel

            Giant floating Soros head bombing Syria!

            (Funnily enough we may be vaguely close to some sort of agreement here: the real solution to the refugee/migrant crisis lies in the international community getting their act together, curbing arms deals and the like. I dunno if demonising the likes of Soros is any more helpful than demonising Putin is. Mind you I believe literally nothing Zuppy says about anything anyway, so…)

          4. manonfire

            According to Nigel

            Soros is only a “billionaire-who-likes-to-meddle-in-sovereign-democracies”

            Hes a benign old man who wants to help people with refugees, thats all..

          7. Nigel

            Pakam (Persian: پاكم‎‎, also Romanized as Pākam; also known as Pacham, Pāyekam, and Pāy-e Tom)[1] is a village in Howmeh Rural District, in the Central District of Bam County, Kerman Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 876, in 214 families.[

          9. Nigel

            Photochemistry and Photobiology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original research papers, rapid communications, research notes, technical notes, invited articles, and reviews covering photochemistry and photobiology. These topics relate to the interaction of light with living systems, the resulting biological reactions, related chemical and physical processes, and the relation of these to medicine and other disciplines.

          11. Nigel

            This is so stupidly fun I’m tempted to keep it up all day, but that might try everyone’s patience. Instead I’ll leave you with this video which explains everything:

    2. :-Joe

      Spot on, european boats are actually helping with the US led plan to destablise Europe over the next few years.

      :-J

  4. bertie blenkinsop

    Gorgeous little thing, I’d be so happy walking him around on a lead.
    Sorry that was meant for the missing dog thread below.
    Or was it….?

  6. Twunt

    With the election coming up in various EU states Sutherland’s traitor mates will be told to not let the door hit their well cosseted arses on the way out

    1. fluffybiscuits

      You didnt read my post correctly

      Nationalise NAMA to sort the housing crisis for everyone.

      If only I could underline it and put sparkles around it and nice and glittery

      1. Rob_G

        “Nationalise NAMA to sort the housing crisis for everyone.”

        – Are you for real? Who do you think owns NAMA?

          1. Owen C

            @ Fluffy

            Serious question – under a Fluffy administration, if we nationalised NAMA tomorrow, how many additional house completions beyond the current forecast of 15-20k would you expect in each of the following years:

            2016
            2017
            2018

          2. fluffybiscuits

            Enforce the 12.5% corporate tax rate

            35,000 new homes would cost 3.8 bn – (http://www.citizensinformationboard.ie/downloads/relate/relate_2015_04.pdf)

            You enforce a corporate tax rate you build these homes and cover the cost there

            A housing project like that would create in the region of about 5,000 new jobs. If you calculate the tax take on average from 5000 PAYE workers and average that you are going to take about €5000 per year from them 5000 x €5000 workers gives €250 million back to the exchequer roughly.

          3. Owen C

            Fluffy

            you didnt answer the question – how many additional housing completions would you expect in each year?

          6. Owen C

            35000 new homes per year is incredibly unrealistic (ridiculously so). Further, 5k people cannot build that many houses. The entire construction industry currently employs 137k people and produces <15k houses per annum.

            The link you provided suggests building (as opposed to sourcing) 22k houses over a 6 year period. So 3-4k houses per year. Or 10% of what you are suggesting.

          7. fluffybiscuits

            You are correct in the numbers employed but Im saying about adding to the councils workforce for construction of said houses. I did grossly underestimate the numbers needed for labour

            I dont see 35,000 being unrealistic. If done properly. In the 80s – 20,000 houses were built a year and that was during a massive recession

          8. Owen C

            My guess would be that 35k houses per year would probably require 50k builders/electricians/painters/plumbers etc. Trust me, I’ve just finished extensively redoing a house – the country does not have 50k spare construction workers.

          9. fluffybiscuits

            That is why I suggested training up immigrants with the necessary skills. Obviously certain skills would need a lot longer but if we thought the basics over a three month period?

          11. Owen C

            “If we taught the basics over a three month period”

            When did this become a parody? You can’t teach someone to build a proper house over three months.

          13. Neilo

            If you can undercut the Chinese in manufacturing, you can train immigrants to build a house in three months. Now if you’ll excuse me, my unicorn is tethered outside and I must hie away to Brigadoon.

          14. Back In Black

            Fluffy’s not wrong though here in fairness

            During the construction boom Turkish Gama workers, Moldovan labourers etc typically were “trained” to build our homes, our homes!!! in that sort of fashion.
            Look how well that went!

          15. fluffybiscuits

            No one is talking about undercutting the Chinese

            Im talking about where the Chinese have a shortage of goods in terms of items like pharmeceuticals etc.

            My plan for building housing would be to give the basics in bricklaying, pipework, plastering etc. This would enable the basics to be done before a more experienced person comes in.

  8. rotide

    Broadsheet’s complete lack of editorial makes me confused about this post.

    Politician and businessman has opinions on two issues close to the hivemind heart, neither of which are controversial

    and?

  9. some old queen

    Is Merkel not electorally in trouble because of her immigrant policy? She may not last the year according to some.

    1. Robert

      I think that’s what he means …

      But god forbid she would have consulted with her neighbours first and come up with a coordinated plan.

      1. some old queen

        Her downfall will not be the neighbours but the influx of people from a starkly differently culture whom the German electorate increasingly resent.

        I’ll be called racist for that of course but whatever.

    2. Twunt

      She just got her arse handed to her in her home state where the anti immigration party came second and Merkle came 3rd.

      The right is on the rise in Germany, France and the Netherlands. This is in no small part to concerns being ignored.

  11. human

    Wow all the usual suspect Marxist western democracy hating BS trolls are defending a former chairman of Goldman Sachs… Useful Idiots.

  12. :-Joe

    [ EDITED ]
    Anyone remember Gearóid Ó Colmáin last year and the idea of coerced economic migration?…

    – Here he was then on the Paris attacks :
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7GAbVhjTSw

    Well, a few months ago he was talking in more brutally honest detail about what’s really going on with the refugee crisis :

    [WARNING Extreme passion and frustration] :
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYpGKshoeqM#t=989.318192

    It’s no wonder this clown is promoting the asymilation of refugees into Europe…

    Do you really think this clown is on the news for the benefit of refugees, Ireland’s economic interests and telling us anything that is for the overall good of anyone apart from his own paymasters. If this pig wants you to do something then you should do the complete opposite for guaranteed positive results 99% of the time. The other 1% is for random luck that he does something out of character.

    A 1st class scumbag traitor who supports war criminals, greedy financial terrorists and in reality he’s nothing more but a mere messenger boy for the elite vulture class ….

    :-J

    1. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

      Thank you for saving us white women from the refugees but ignoring and ridiculing the same women when they talk about rape culture. We really appreciate. Kthkbye.

          1. manonfire

            Murdoch is a globalist, he likes loads of refugees, this does not help him

            Not the most reliable, not a fail though

          2. :-Joe

            If there not verified as being more than “a start” why are you posting them???

            You’re just encouraging bad propoganda and ignorance on the subject..

            :-J

        2. :-Joe

          Do have something from a recognised science journal / university study or a reliable news source?

          I’m not having a laugh, but there’s a rake of pooh on all this flying around to stoke the fires of hatred and get everyone angry. about muslims and refugees etc.

          :-J

          1. manonfire

            Stastics require time
            A year is not enough for any reliable conclusions, therefore any stats relating i would take with a pinch of salt

          2. manonfire

            Even better, so u cite yourself and then proclaim it to be a source
            You then lecture me on my sources

            Lamentable

    1. :-Joe

      Bad timing fluffy,

      I’m all for breaking down borders and free movement of people all over planet earth but not if there is active intent to clear out soverign states from the middle east into europe.

      End the US led proxy wars in syria and neighbouring states then think about opening the borders.

      You’re just playing into their hands with this at the moment.

      :-J

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie